1 9 5 9 - bAn Alternate History

TEXT BY MICHAEL BACCAM

ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEPHEN KNEZOVICH

1 9 5 9 BAn alternate history

Text by Michael Baccam

illustration by Stephen Knezovich

1959B

I n t r o d u c t i o n

In 2012, Sarah Wesseler asked if I

wanted to work with a visual artist for a

Satellite Magazine collaboration project. I said I wanted to work with this guy

Steve [unpronouncable last name: ka-nes-o-vitch?] who makes weird collages.

Knezovich and I threw some ideas around,

most of which involved pawning tasks that

we’d normally do onto the other person

(i.e., I would select source materials

for the illustrations; he would cherry

pick text from said materials for me to

turn into written stories; and so on). I

bought some issues of Life from 1959 and all of the National Geographics for that same year, and Steve cut out one-hundred-

fifty text snippets from those magazines.

He told me to do whatever I wanted with

them and that he’d make the collages based

on the stories they inspired.

I had some ideas about children turning

into motorcycles, old people stuffed

into cannons, and Germans caught in a

whistleroom. I tried writing a single

narrative, a braided narrative, gibberish.

I tried a collage approach, spreading the

half-inch snippets on my kitchen table and

using packaging tape to stick different

combinations of words to blank pieces of

paper. I asked Steve to send me the text

again because I ruined the first copies.

Eventually, I decided to use real headlines

from 1959 for each month. The stories

contain some true details (Nixon’s trip,

Foster’s attempt at the motel pool, etc.)

but with other elements thrown in. Almost

all of them use quotes from the text Steve

gave me (everything from entire lines and

phrases to a single name or place), and for

some, the text was just a starting point

and then I veered way off. The stories

aren’t meant to be summaries or captions

but rather text extracted from imagined

National Geographic-like articles.

I gave Steve the twelve stories, and he

went to work, cutting the 1959 magazines

to shreds while creating the collages.

This book is the flawed and messy love

child of our union.

− Michael Baccam

M e c h t a e s c a p e s

e a r t h ’ s g r a v i t y

Jan 4

We all watched the

television screens and

listened, the metal craft

trembling in a numbing

wash of air and fire.

Bogdan stared at the

sky, waiting for a rip of

light. If Mechta failed,

he would have to wait

another year. If not,

he’d leave Novosibirsk.

Am e r i c a n A i r l i n e s ’

E l e c t r a C r a s h e s i n

N Y ’ s E a s t R i v e r

Feb 3

The prisoners were hurled

forward violently into

their shoulder harnesses.

Jolted and spun about, the

plane floated weightless

in air for a moment

before falling, killing

all 65 passengers.

Korolyov ordered another

“controlled crash” to

test the impact equipment

for Lunik 4.

R o b e r t F o s t e r s e t s

r e c o r d b y s t ay i n g

u n d e rwat e r 1 3 m 4 2 . 5 s

Mar 15

Pulling himself out of

the swimming pool at

the Bermuda Palms Motel

(San Rafeal, California)

after nearly 14 minutes,

Foster collapsed and had

to be revived by EMTs.

A former electronics

engineer, Foster (age 32)

had moved to Hollywood and

was marketing himself as

a man of the future. “Man

is three machines,” he’d

said before the attempt.

“A tank. A motorcycle.”

C a s t r o b e g i n s U S

g o o dw i l l t o u r ; c o p s

o n p r ow l f o r b o o t s

apr 15

The new prime minister of

Cuba met with Secretary

of State Herter. Before

entering the State

Department building,

Castro demanded that

everyone remove their

boots. A half hour was

spent negotiating the

definition of “boots.”

U.S. security personnel

were allowed to keep their

footwear; 23 civilian

staff were removed from

the premises.

1 st house with bu i lt- i n

bomb shelter exh i b ited

( P l easant H i l l s P a )

may 24

The compartments are

fairly spacious and the

beds have springs. In

the jukebox of “The Pit,”

four silent records are

available. Two have

beeps, the others have

only needle scratch.

“After, we’re going to

record our own music,”

Bill says. “But we have

to wait.”

1 s t o f f i c i a l

“ m i s s i l e m a i l ” l a n d s

( J a c k s o n v i l l e F L )

Jun 8

Summerfield proclaimed

the missile launch from

the U.S. Navy submarine

a groundbreaking moment.

“California to DC in only

a couple hours,” he said.

Janice Hughes of Palatka

was impressed. “I like

the little parachutes,”

she said. “Maybe someday

the rockets will land

right on our porches.”

The cost to mail a

letter will be four

cents domestic and eight

international.

V P R i c h a r d N i x o n

v i s i t s s o u t h e r n

S i b e r i a n c i t y

Jul 29

Nixon was given a tour of

the hydroelectric station

and treated to a ballet

in the evening. Though

Novosibirsk was a town

of unpaved roads, freely

roaming livestock, and

wood houses reminiscent

of Depression-era shacks,

he was enamored of it and

its people.

Before leaving the next

morning, he stopped the

motorcade in the town

center, stood on the hood

of his car, and gave an

impromptu speech. The

vice president thanked

his hosts, complimented

the town’s technological

advancement, and then

declared that he would

seek to ban promotional

cheesecake. The people

cheered for five minutes.

D i s c o v e r e r 5 l a u n c h e d

i n t o p o l a r o r b i t

Aug 13

The sailor at the control

console took a last

look at the television

screen and then at his

checklist.

The chief officer said,

almost laconically, “Push

the pickle.” The sailor’s

thumb went down, and the

spy satellite on the

screen dissolved into a

cloud of smoke.

S o v i e t U n i o n ’ s L u n i k 2

i s 1 s t s p a c e c r a f t t o

l a n d o n t h e m o o n

Sep 14

His robot creation, hurled

aloft on raging streamers

of fire, finally reached

its destination. It was

the first time a manmade

object had impacted the

moon. Both the Soviets

and Americans had already

flown by but missed their

target.

Sikorsky smiled. “It’s

so easy now,” he said.

“Like a practice flight

with models.”

F a r s i d e o f M o o n

s e e n f o r 1 s t t i m e ,

c o m p l i m e n t s o f

U S S R ’ s L u n i k 3

Oct 18

Bogdan took 29 photos on

October 8. He processed

the film, let it dry,

scanned it, and began

transmission to Moscow.

He waited for a response

as Lunik drifted back

toward Earth.

Command sent an error

message and asked him to

resend the photographs.

Bogdan kept pushing the

button.

On October 18, they sent

their last transmission:

“17 photos secured.”

Bogdan asked which ones,

but he received no reply.

H awa i i ’ s K i l a u e a

v o l c a n o e r u p t s

Nov 14

As the earthquakes

subsided, we heard

reports of lava pouring

from the crater. Someone

said the trees had

sparked bright yellow

and disintegrated.

At the base of the volcano,

Sikorsky was distraught.

The crew he had hired to

recover Lunik had fled.

He headed toward the dock

and disappeared into a

ship’s cabin. The lava

carried the boats to the

ocean, and we watched as

they melted, descended

straight down, masts

upright.

D a n i s h C o mm u n i s t s

s e n t t o j a i l

Dec 22

The East German spies

were sentenced to five

years in prison. During

the trial, prosecutors

accused the spies of

brainwashing orphans

and turning them into

military fighters.

One of the kids, whom the

press began to call “Baby

Ricky” on account of

his tan skin, testified

that the Communists had

strapped lights to his

eyes and made him blink

in Morse code in order

to communicate with the

other children.

g e o c i t i e s a d d r e s sbaccam

MB wishes he were a little

bit taller. He wishes he were

a baller. He wishes he had a

girl, he would call her.

t h e n ewg r a vy c a k e . c o mknezovich

Language and story play a major

role in SK’s work. Through a

process of deconstruction,

juxtaposition, and addition

by subtraction, each piece

is an attempt to recreate

meaning, tell a story, and

resurrect a forgotten piece

of our printed past.

s a t e l l i t e m a g a z i n e . c asatellite

Satellite is a biannual

magazine focusing on cities,

culture, and politics.

Each issue features an in-

depth look at a single city,

alongside interviews, art,

and nonfiction. Satellite is

based in Toronto.

(c)2013 Neztovich and Bocam

Layout and design by Michael BaccamCover by Stephen Knezovich